1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage containers and more particularly to canisters for storing food products under a low vacuum in order to help preserve the freshness of the food.
2. Prior Art
It is well known that many persons attempt to preserve the freshness of food by isolating it from ambient air by placing it in conventional containers, plastic lock bags, covering open bowls with plastic wrap and the like.
Some food items such as ground coffee come in vacuum packed cans with reusable plastic tops in an attempt to limit the development of staleness by minimizing contact with ambient air. There is presently not available a reusable vacuum sealed container such as a canister suitable for use in the average kitchen to preserve the freshness of cookies, crackers, tea, raisins, dried fruit, brown sugar, coffee and similar items which has an attractive appearance, is stable during pump activation, simple to operate, wherein the contents are readily accessible, and in which the canister can be sealed or unsealed rapidly in a easy and convenient way.
The present invention provides a very attractive and stable vacuum sealed canister in which the freshness of food can be maintained by storage in a low vacuum. The vacuum is readily achieved with a few strokes of a plunger handle. The vacuum is securely maintained. A specially designed lid and handle is easily manipulated to release the vacuum seal and provide access to the interior contents of the canister.
A typical example of an almost universally enjoyed item is ground coffee which loses its freshness rapidly if exposed to ambient air. Some people have utilized the reusable coffee cans with plastic lids by storing them in the refrigerator in an attempt to minimize the development of staleness, but this practice is generally unsatisfactory.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,095, Wheatley, a storage container for ground coffee is disclosed wherein a vacuum container is provided with an attached hand operated vacuum pump. The container has an extremely narrow neck opening with a filter that interferes with filling the container. In order to release the vacuum a rubberized cap must be turned which is extremely hard because of the large area over which the differential pressure is acting, thus making the device inconvenient and difficult to use. In addition, the construction is such that operating the vacuum pump requires two hands and structure has a tendency to tip over.